These SECURE 2.0 provisions make it easier for workers to save for retirement 

There are lots of things that get in the way of saving for retirement. Although the government can’t account for all of them, SECURE 2.0 did go after a few, including inertia, job changes, part-time work, and student loan debt. 

Section 113—small immediate financial incentives for contributing to a plan

For plan years beginning after December 29, 2022

This provision amends the law to allow for a de minimis financial incentive to be provided to employees who elect to contribute to the sponsor’s 401(k) or 403(b) plan. This incentive can’t be paid with plan assets and wouldn’t be deposited into the retirement account.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: These de minimis financial incentives could be used to further encourage unenrolled participants to enroll in the retirement plan.

Section 120—exemption for certain auto-portability transactions 

Effective for transactions occurring on or after December 29, 2023

Current law allows plan sponsors to distribute a participant’s account balance or accrued benefit if the value is less than $5,000—an amount that’s been increased to $7,000 by Section 304—and roll the account into a default IRA without the participant’s consent after the participant incurs a distributable event (such as severance from employment). Participants must receive advance notice and be given an opportunity to make an affirmative election to receive the distribution or make their own rollover election. 

SECURE 2.0 creates a new prohibited transaction exemption that permits a retirement plan service provider, subject to several conditions (including acknowledging fiduciary status), to provide a plan with automatic portability services that transfer the default IRA account into a participant’s current employer’s plan, unless the participant elects otherwise. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has been directed to issue further guidance and conduct studies related to this exemption.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This change could help increase account consolidation and reduce plan leakage, especially for participants with smaller balances who might otherwise cash out their retirement plans when they leave jobs. This may also result in a reduction of the number of unlocatable or missing participants.

Section 110—treatment of student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of matching contributions

For contributions made for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023

Employers will be permitted (although not required) to make matching contributions under 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plans, or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs with respect to qualified student loan payments. A qualified student loan payment is generally defined as any indebtedness incurred by the employee solely to pay qualified higher education expenses of the employee, the employee's spouse, or the employee's dependent. The employer may rely on employee certification of qualified student loan repayments. To satisfy certain nondiscrimination testing requirements, the provision permits a plan to separately test the employees who receive matching contributions on student loan repayments using one of the methods described in the Q&A, D-1 of IRS Notice 2024-63.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This provision allows employees who are repaying their student loans and unable to save, or to save as much as they might like, for retirement to receive matching contributions.

Section 126—rollovers from 529 plans to Roth IRAs

For distributions after December 31, 2023

The designated beneficiary of a 529 account that’s been maintained for at least 15 years may request a tax-free direct rollover of the account’s assets to such designated beneficiary’s Roth IRA. The rollover may only consist of contributions (and related earnings) that were in the 529 account for at least five years, subject to a lifetime rollover maximum of $35,000. In addition, the rollover is subject to Roth IRA contribution limits and the requirement that a Roth IRA owner have includable compensation at least equal to the amount of the rollover.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This provision is welcome news for 529 account beneficiaries who have assets in their 529 account that they’re unable to use for education expenses. Previously, in order to use excess assets in a 529 account, the account owner had to designate certain other family members as a new beneficiary of the account who could then use the account assets for education expenses. This provision creates a new way for a 529 account beneficiary to retain and use excess 529 account assets by rolling them over to a Roth IRA.

Section 303—retirement savings lost and found 

December 29, 2024: deadline for the DOL to create a lost and found database

The DOL was tasked with creating a searchable retirement savings lost and found database by December 29, 2024. This database would allow individuals to search for information regarding the administrator of any retirement plan in which they are, or were, a participant or beneficiary. 

Currently, plan sponsors and authorized third parties may voluntarily submit information for participants who have reached age 65, have separated from service, and are entitled to a vested benefit (or whose beneficiaries are entitled). This information includes participant details such as name, Social Security number, and last known mailing address, as well as plan- and plan administrator-related information. The DOL anticipates that, in the future, it will be able to use information from Form 8955-SSA to populate the database. 

The DOL lost and found database went live on December 27, 2024, but is expected to evolve over time. 

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: The retirement savings lost and found database will assist participants in locating benefits to which they're entitled. It may also reduce the number of missing and lost participants, as more individuals might be reminded of their benefits and reach out to plan sponsors to claim them; however, because submitting information to populate the database is voluntary and there are lingering concerns regarding security and privacy, we don't anticipate that many plan sponsors will be eager to submit the requested information. Additionally, plan sponsors may choose to wait and see if the DOL will use information from Form 8955-SSA to populate the database and what changes might be made, as the DOL rushed the database to meet its December 29, 2024, deadline.

Section 101—mandatory automatic enrollment

For plan years beginning after December 31, 2024

SECURE 2.0 makes automatic enrollment a requirement for new 401(k) and 403(b) plans (with certain exceptions). This feature must be in the form of an eligible automatic contribution arrangement (EACA). Under the EACA, participants must be automatically enrolled at an initial rate of at least 3% (but not more than 10%) and have their contributions increased each year by 1% to at least 10% (but not more than 15%). Such contributions must be invested in a qualified default investment alternative unless the participant elects otherwise. Participants may elect to opt out of the EACA and/or request a refund of contributions that were made under the EACA subject to the 90-day withdrawal rule. Mandatory automatic enrollment doesn’t apply to SIMPLE 401(k) plans, plans adopted before December 29, 2022, governmental or church plans, plans sponsored by businesses in existence for less than three years, or plans maintained by employers with 10 or fewer employees. When determining whether an exception applies to an employer under a multiple employer plan, each participating employer is treated separately (e.g., if any such employer has 10 or fewer employees, mandatory automatic enrollment won’t apply).

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: Automatic enrollment has been recognized as one of the most effective tools to boost participation under 401(k) and 403(b) plans. With the addition of mandatory automatic enrollment and automatic increase, more employees should be better prepared financially for retirement.

Section 121—new starter 401(k) plan

For plan years beginning after December 31, 2023

An employer that doesn’t maintain a retirement plan may establish a starter 401(k) or safe harbor 403(b) plan. Both types of plans, generally, must:

• Limit contributions to elective deferrals only
• Cover all employees except those who can be excluded by statute
• Have automatic deferrals at a rate of at least 3% but not more than 15%
• Have an elective deferral limit of $6,000 (indexed for inflation)
• Have a catch-up contribution limit equal to the IRA catch-up contribution limit (which is now indexed for inflation under SECURE 2.0)

Starter 401(k) and safe harbor 403(b) plans aren’t subject to average deferral percentage (ADP) and top-heavy testing.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: For small employers that don’t sponsor a retirement plan and aren’t ready to make employer-matching or nonelective contributions, this may be an attractive alternative to setting up a 401(k) plan with employer contributions or a state-mandated IRA. In addition, the cost of establishing a starter 401(k) plan may be offset by the increased tax credit for start-up plans (Section 102 of SECURE 2.0) if the employer is eligible. 

Section 125—reduced service requirement for long-term/part-time employees 

For plan years beginning after December 31, 2024, except as otherwise provided

The SECURE Act of 2019 required 401(k) plans to cover long-term/part-time employees by changing the eligibility requirements to age 21 and the earlier of:

• Completion of three consecutive years during which at least 500 hours are worked in each (not counting service prior to 2021) or
• Completion of one year of service during which at least 1,000 hours are worked.

SECURE 2.0:

• Reduces the three-consecutive-year requirement to two consecutive years
• Excludes service prior to 2021 for the special long-term/part-time employee vesting requirement, so it now aligns with service that’s counted for eligibility
• Extends the long-term/part-time employee rules to 403(b) plans subject to ERISA

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This provision accelerates the coverage of long-term, part-time employees by reducing the service condition from three years to two years, which is great for expanding coverage; however, this provision adds the administrative burden of tracking dual eligibility as well as dual vesting rules. Plan sponsors may want to consider whether they should amend their eligibility provisions (e.g., provide for immediate eligibility or a service requirement more generous than the long-term, part-time employee rule) for all employees, at least for purposes of salary deferrals, to avoid this provision and the complexities it will cause.

Section 103 and 104—saver’s credit and promotion of saver’s credit 

For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, except as otherwise provided

Section 103 changes the existing retirement savings contribution credit (Saver’s Credit) with respect to IRA and retirement plan contributions made by eligible individuals from a nonrefundable tax credit against taxes owed (i.e., tax refund) to a federally funded matching contribution regardless of the individual’s tax obligation. The matching contribution is equal to 50% of the individual’s contributions that don’t exceed $2,000 until the individual reaches certain income levels. It’s subject to a phaseout between $41,000 and $71,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return ($20,500–$35,500 for single taxpayers and married filing separate; $30,750–$53,250 for head of household filers). These dollar amounts will be adjusted for inflation for any taxable year beginning in a calendar year after 2027. The matching contribution is treated as a pretax contribution and is deposited into the individual’s IRA or employer retirement plan account (provided it accepts such contributions), as directed by the individual. If the matching contribution is less than $100, it will be treated as a tax credit. 

Section 104 directs the U.S. Department of the Treasury to develop a strategy to effectively educate and promote the saver’s match to the public no later than July 1, 2026.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: The saver’s matching contribution is a great savings tool made available to eligible lower and moderately paid employees when filing their tax return. Replacing the saver’s credit with a matching contribution generally benefits a great number of eligible employees, and the use of a single percentage (in place of the former tiered approach) makes it easier to implement and explain to individuals.

Plan administrators should note that there are a lot of special provisions that apply to these matching contributions for retirement plans that choose to accept them, which can result in complicated administration. If a retirement plan doesn’t accept these contributions, the individual can choose to have them deposited into an IRA, which would be simpler.

SECURE 2.0 provisions that give participants easier access to their savings

One of the reasons many people are reluctant to save in a retirement plan is fear that they won’t have access to their money in a pinch. SECURE 2.0 took aim at that hesitation by allowing savers to self-certify certain hardships and emergencies, enabling the retirement plan to be a platform for emergency savings, adding new withdrawal options, and allowing certain withdrawals to be paid back to the retirement plan or to an IRA. 

Section 331—withdrawal for federally declared disasters

For disasters occurring on or after January 26, 2021

The act provides permanent disaster withdrawal rules for defined contribution (DC) plans (including 401(k), profit-sharing, money purchase, 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans) and IRAs that opt to permit disaster withdrawals. The maximum withdrawal amount is $22,000 per disaster.

• Plans of affiliated employers will need to monitor this across all plans.
• The taxable withdrawal amount is included in income over three years unless the participant elects otherwise.
• The withdrawal is exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax, direct rollover requirements, and mandatory 20% federal tax withholding.
• Repayment is permitted within three years after the date of withdrawal to a plan or IRA (a different repayment period applies to certain unused home buyer withdrawals).
• Loan terms can be modified to increase the maximum loan amount (up to $100,000), permit use of a participant’s total vested account as loan collateral, and suspend loan repayments for up to one year.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: Having disaster withdrawal rules in place before disasters occur will enable participants to access their vested accounts more quickly at a time when they may need it the most, but they add an additional level of complexity to plan administration.

Section 302—reduction in excise tax on certain accumulations in qualified retirement plans

For taxable years beginning after December 29, 2022

This provision reduces the excise tax from 50% to 25% on required minimum distributions (RMDs) that aren’t taken in a timely manner. In addition, if the failure to take an RMD is corrected within a defined correction window, the excise tax on the failure is reduced even further to 10%.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: The reduction to the excise tax provides welcome relief to individuals in the event an RMD isn’t distributed in a timely manner. The previous 50% excise tax was extremely excessive because late RMDs are generally due to inadvertent oversight rather than an attempt to avoid the distribution.

Section 312—hardship withdrawal certification

For plan years beginning after December 29, 2022

401(k) and 403(b) plans can rely on employee certifications that: 

• Their hardship withdrawal is being taken for one of the safe harbor hardship reasons. 
• The withdrawal requested doesn’t exceed the amount needed to alleviate the hardship. 
• The participant has no other reasonably available resources to alleviate the hardship. 

A similar rule applies with respect to unforeseeable emergency withdrawals from a governmental 457(b) plan. The IRS, by regulation, can limit the use of self-certification—such as in the unlikely case where the plan administrator has actual knowledge to the contrary—and address consequences of participant misrepresentations.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: Self-certification enables hardship withdrawals taken for one of the safe harbor reasons to be done electronically. The benefits include eliminating the need for plan administrators to review and approve hardship documentation and helping participants receive such hardship withdrawals faster.

Section 326—exception to penalty on early distributions from qualified plans for individuals with a terminal illness

For distributions made after December 29, 2022

Unless an exception applies, the current tax code imposes a 10% penalty for distributions taken from a retirement account prior to reaching age 59½. This provision allows penalty-free withdrawals to certain terminally ill individuals.

• The individual’s physician must certify that the individual has a terminal illness or condition that can reasonably result in death within 84 months. 
• The individual must otherwise be eligible for a distribution under the plan.

The withdrawal may be repaid to the plan within three years, following the rules for qualified birth and adoption distribution (QBAD) withdrawals.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This provision exempts a distribution to a terminally ill individual from the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax but doesn’t create a new in-service withdrawal type for otherwise restricted amounts such as 401(k) or safe harbor contribution accounts. This means that in order to take advantage of this penalty-free withdrawal, the terminally ill individual must be otherwise eligible for a distribution under the plan.

Section 115—withdrawals for certain emergency expenses

For distributions made after December 31, 2023

In addition to the new emergency savings account option under Section 127, this provision permits one withdrawal per year to pay for “unforeseeable or immediate financial needs relating to necessary personal or family emergency expenses” without the Internal Revenue Code 72(t) 10% penalty tax for early withdrawal. The amount is limited to up to $1,000 per year (or if the account is less than $2,000, the amount that exceeds $1,000), and the emergency withdrawal can be repaid to the plan (or IRA) within three years (like the QBAD repayment rules referenced in Section 311 of SECURE 2.0). A participant isn’t permitted to take another emergency withdrawal from the same plan or IRA in the three-year period unless the participant has repaid the emergency withdrawal or made contributions that equal or exceed the amount of the prior emergency withdrawal to the plan or IRA. These emergency expense withdrawals aren’t permitted in defined benefit (DB) plans.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This is an optional provision that makes retirement savings more accessible in the event of certain personal or family emergency expenses. A plan administrator can rely on the participant’s certification that the withdrawal is for an emergency expense. The amount of the emergency withdrawal doesn’t have to equal the amount of the emergency need.

Section 314—penalty-free withdrawals for domestic abuse victims

For distributions made after December 31, 2023

This provision permits victims of domestic abuse to take a penalty-free withdrawal from a retirement plan (excluding pension assets, such as from a money purchase or DB plan) or IRA. The aggregate amount of such withdrawals for any individual can’t exceed the lesser of $10,000 (indexed for inflation) or 50% of the participant’s vested account balance. Plan administrators may rely on a participant’s certification of eligibility for such distribution. Similar to a QBAD, this distribution is exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax, direct rollover requirements, and mandatory 20% federal tax withholding. Also, all or any portion of the distribution may be repaid to the retirement plan or to an IRA within three years.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This new withdrawal type could act as a lifeline to those in serious need of funds with the hope that recipients will be able to remove themselves from the dangerous situation, get back on their feet, and eventually repay all or a portion back to their retirement plan or IRA.

Section 127—emergency savings accounts linked to individual account plans

For plan years beginning after December 31, 2023

This provision allows plan sponsors to add a pension-linked emergency savings account to their retirement plan. To contribute to a pension-linked emergency savings account, an employee must meet the eligibility criteria established by the plan and not be a highly compensated employee. Plan sponsors can also opt to automatically enroll participants into the pension-linked emergency savings account with a contribution rate no greater than 3%. The total amount in a participant’s account is limited by the plan but can be no more than $2,500 (indexed annually). Once the cap is reached, additional contributions may be directed to the employee’s Roth contribution account or stopped until the pension-linked emergency savings account balance falls below the cap. There can’t be a minimum contribution or account balance requirement. 

The pension-linked emergency savings account must be funded post-tax with Roth contributions and invested in cash, in an interest-bearing deposit account, or in an investment product designed to preserve principal. Withdrawals must be allowed from the account at least once per month (and processed as soon as practicable), and at least the first four withdrawals in a plan year from the account may not be assessed any fees. Withdrawals are penalty free and don’t need to be substantiated to show a qualifying emergency cause. On termination of employment, any pension-linked emergency savings account balance can be converted to the Roth account within the plan, distributed to the participant, or rolled over to a designated Roth account in another plan or Roth IRA.

The deferrals to the pension-linked emergency savings account would be eligible for any matching contributions provided under the plan, with an annual matching cap set at the maximum account balance (i.e., $2,500 or a lower amount established by the plan). Additional disclosures and notices related to the pension-linked emergency savings account would be required but may be combined with other notices. Sponsors that add a pension-linked emergency savings account to their plan can eliminate that provision at any time without violating the anti-cutback rules.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: This provision is clearly aimed at addressing the significant number of households unable to withstand a financial emergency. The use of the retirement plan as a platform allows plan sponsors to offer employees a solution without violating state anti-garnishment laws or plan withdrawal provisions. These accounts could also reduce loan-related leakage in retirement plans by offering participants an alternative source of funds for financial emergencies. This is a substantial and unique provision built on a retirement chassis. Time will tell if it helps to lessen the financial stress of the many participants unable to withstand a sudden financial emergency.

Section 334—qualified long-term care distributions

For distributions made after December 29, 2025

This provision permits DC retirement plans—but excludes money purchase plans—to make qualified long-term care distributions (i.e., certain payments relating to long-term care insurance costs, if the insurance satisfies certain long-term care coverage requirements). For any tax year, qualified long-term care distributions can’t exceed the lesser of:

1 The amount paid to or assessed by the insurance provider,

2 10% of the employee’s vested account balance, or

3 $2,500 (indexed for inflation).

Qualified long-term care distributions are generally exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax, direct rollover requirements, and mandatory 20% federal tax withholding.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: Knowing that 401(k) funds can cover at least part of the substantial cost of long-term insurance premiums might enable employees to participate in their 401(k) plan while also planning for their long-term care costs.

Preretirees and retirees can also get a boost from SECURE 2.0

In a recent survey of our retirement plan participants, 56% said they were behind in saving for retirement and 38% said they’ll have to delay retirement. Increases in the RMD age and catch-up contribution limits are meant to give preretirees and retirees a greater chance of not outliving their retirement savings.

Section 107—increased RMD age

For distributions required to be made after December 31, 2022, with respect to individuals who attain age 72 after such date     

Under the SECURE Act of 2019, the RMD age was increased from 70½ to 72 for employees born after June 30, 1949. Section 107 of SECURE 2.0 further increased the RMD age to 73 for employees born after December 31, 1950, and before January 1, 1960, and then increased to age 75 for employees born after December 31, 1958.

There's a technical glitch in this provision, as employees born in 1959 are subject to both age 73 and age 75; however, under the proposed RMD regulations (July 19, 2024), the applicable age for an employee who was born in 1959 would be age 73.

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: Increasing the RMD age delays the RMD start date, which means that funds may continue to grow in a retirement account for a longer period and, in turn, enable retirees to improve their financial future.

Section 109—higher catch-up limit to apply at age 60, 61, 62, and 63 

The catch-up contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans has been increased for individuals who attain the ages of 60 through 63 during the calendar year beginning in 2025 (super catch-up contribution). The 2025 super catch-up contribution limit is $11,250, which is 150% of the 2025 regular catch-up contribution limit of $7,500. 

For SIMPLE plans, the 2025 super catch-up contribution limit is $5,250, which is 150% of the regular SIMPLE plan catch-up limit of $3,500. 

The regular and super catch-up contribution limits described above will be indexed for inflation. 

Manulife John Hancock Retirement viewpoint: The provision offers participants aged 60 through 63 an additional opportunity to bolster their retirement savings.

Make sure your employees know how SECURE 2.0 can help them save more for retirement

SECURE 2.0 offers several new or adjusted rules intended to help people save more for retirement. But whether it’s reduced penalties on withdrawals, increased catch-up limits, or emergency savings, communication is key—people can’t take advantage of something they’re not aware of or that they don’t understand. Plan sponsors can work with their plan partners to make sure they’re communicating the new provisions under their plan with employees, letting them know in clear, relevant, and targeted communications how SECURE 2.0 can help them save more for retirement.